TMU Library Catalogue
TMU Library Catalogue searches for books, e-books, dvds, and other resources. It is a good place to look for known books, or when using the keyword search to find some relevant titles for an assignment. When you find a good title, open the catalogue record in order to identify the assigned Library of Congress subject headings that can be used to identify similar works.
TMU Library Search Everything
TMU Library Search Everything This search engine searches for books and audio-visual materials that are also listed in the library's catalogue, as well as journal articles (chiefly those that are available electronically), theses and dissertations, newspaper coverage from some recent and a selection of archival newspapers, and digitized content such as out-of-copyright books and journals that are available from sources such as The Internet Archive and The Hathi Trust.
Refine your search by content type or other criteria including listing in the library catalogue.
Quick Facts
Encyclopedias and dictionaries
remain useful sources of quick information. In addition to free sources such as Wikipedia, consider some of our licensed electronic content from publishers such as Oxford University Press, as well as printed items.
Try keyword searches in the main catalogue using subject or topical terms and either dictionaries, or, encyclopedias
Example keyword searches:
Biographical information
Consider these resources:
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography (print for those who died 1930 and earlier; online includes new entries for those who died after 1931 and some and revised entries)
- The Canadian Who's Who (for living persons at time of publication)
- Who's Who in Canada (1949/50-2001, for living persons, especially lawyers and business leaders at time of publication)
- The Canadian Men and Women of the Time ... 1st ed. 1898. Also available in digital format from the Internet Archive.
- The Canadian Men and Women of the Time ... 2nd ed. 1912
- Native Peoples A to Z: A Reference Guide to Native Peoples of the Western Hemisphere. 2nd ed. (2009, 8 vols.)
- Encyclopedia of North American Indians (print and online)
- Current Biography (1941-2015)
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The Canadian Album: Men of Canada: Success By Example … edited by Wm. Cochrane. Brantford Ont.: Bradley, Garretson & Co. 1891-1896. 5 vols. The indexes at the rear of each volume are particularly useful as the entries are in no particular order. You can also use the search icon on the left to find the "search inside" tool. Available from the Internet Archive: Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5
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A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time ... edited by Geo. Maclean Rose. Toronto: Rose Publishing, 1888. Available from the Internet Archive. A second digitized copy.
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A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Brief Biographies of Persons Distinguished in the Professional, Military and Political Life, and the Commerce and Industry of Canada, in the Twentieth Century. Edited by Hector Charlesworth. Toronto: Hunter-Rose Company, 1919. Available from the Internet Archive.
You can also try searching the main catalogue using the following keywords:
Historical Maps and Atlases
The W.H. Pugsley Collection of Early Canadian Maps from McGill University Library
The David Rumsey Map Collection contains historical maps of North and South America.
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library is digitizing many of the 200,000 maps in the collection. Search digital content under the Collections tab.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Oxford Reference, previously known as Oxford Reference Online Premium, comprises more than 120 dictionaries and reference titles covering a comprehensive subject spectrum including: General Reference, Language, Science and Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business and Professional content.
The Toronto Public Library (TPL) has ongoing subscriptions to many biographical resources as well other dictionaries and encyclopedias that are not available at TMU. Many of the resources are located at the Toronto Reference Library situated just north of Bloor Street on Yonge Street. All TMU students and employees are eligible for Toronto Public Library borrowing privileges.
Digital Collections (Open Access, Freely Available E-books plus)
Many items from Open Access Sources can be found using a TMU Library Search Everything search. To search specific sites, consider the following:
Canada's Local Histories Online
DOAB Directory of Open Access Books
- HathiTrust ETAS Digital Library This link opens in a new window
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The Emergency Temporary Access Service permits special access for HathiTrust member libraries during temporary disruption to normal operations, such as closure for a public health emergency. ETAS provides full text electronic access to over 85K in copyright print titles in Toronto Metropolitan Library's collection.
A preservation repository with millions of volumes digitized by Google, the Internet Archive, and HathiTrust’s partner institutions. Approximately one-third of the volumes are in the public domain and can be viewed in their entirety. - HathiTrust (Global Public Domain only) This link opens in a new window
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HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform. It provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives.
